Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Did Remington make a 788 'bull barrel' model?

I've got 2 788s that I really enjoy. Both sporter weight rifles, one in 308 and one in 260. I just ran across this ad:

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/566081573


Did they produce a heavy barrel model in addition to the sporters? I've never seen one.

Yes. I know a couple guys who have them, one is .222 and the other is a 22-250. They are very accurate.

I have a 1978 in .222 with a heavy barrel (i know it's the factory barrel because i remember when my best friend's dad bought it new in '78, and i lusted after it for the next 30 years).

Amazing accuracy potential as noted above by bushrat.

I owned a pile of 788's back in the 70's and 80's (when they sold new for $99.95 and could be found on sale for $69.95). I have never seen a factory heavy barrel (Varmint contour) 788, but in my recollection the 788 barrel was a slightly heavier contour than the 700 sporter of the day.

I have my doubts that this is a factory rifle, to me it appears to be a 788 with a Remington 700 Varmint contour barrel. The 788 had a "rough" polish on the barrel and receiver, not a high polish like the 700's of the day. If you look at picture 8 of 24 you can see the difference in polish between the receiver and barrel. In 11 of 24 the barrel is obviously high polish, also in 11 & 13 of 24 you can see the poor inletting of the barrel channel.

I love the 788's in spite of their "clunkiness". My personal 788 story is of one I had the mid-70's in 222. After a trigger re-work it would outshoot any gun I had. In my stupidity I sold it to buy a 700 Varminter thinking that if the cheap 788 shot that good the 700 would shoot even better. Wrong!!! - I never got the 700 to even shoot close to the groups the 788 would turn in.

drover

I seem to remember that when buying a replacement stock they were caliber specific, one for the varmint calibers and one for the larger calibers so maybe the varmint jobs had slightly heavier barrels.

I don't believe Remington ever made a 788 in a heavy varmint barrel such as the ones on current Model 700's. As you note, the standard 788 contour was a bit heavier than the Model 700 Sporter contour.

As to two different stocks, I believe that was due to having two different receiver sizes, one for 6mm and .308 and the other for the .223 and .22-250.

They were pretty neat rifles, I had five including a .44 Magnum. The first honest 1/4" five shot group I ever fired was from a 788 in .223 with some cheap Bushnell scope mounted on it. Load was the Speer 50 grain Spitzer and 21.5 grains of IMR4198, and that rifle and load were responsible for lots of red mist after I moved here to Idaho.

I had a 788 in 222 Rem with the heavier barrel. As for the gun listed, if I were a gambling man, I'd say that the barrel is from a 700. Polish exceeds that of the 788 I had, and others I've held. The 2 line roll mark on the barrel IMHO doesn't jibe with the time-frame of the 788's production.

Had one in 22-250. It was certainly heavier than the one I had in 308.

I don't recall the 788 being cataloged with a "bull barrel".

Since the barrel tenon/shank specs are different than the 700 series, a barrel swap would require a little more skill.

IIRC, they were cataloged in 222, 223, 22-250, 243, 6mm, 7mm-08, 30-30, 308, and 44 Mag, all with open sights.

I have never seen or heard of a bull barrel 788, not that means anything. However, if you click through the photos to the pic of the muzzle, it appears to have no kind of crown cut into the barrel. That strikes me as odd.

None of this means that it can't be a one off factory rifle, but I would bet against it. On the other hand, it could be a great shooter!

405wcf

Several years ago I had a 788 collector tell me that they offered all of the calibers in a carbine version. I have only seen carbines in 708, 308, and 243. But then again I dont really go out of my way to find 788s.

Jim,

I found this on the 'net:

Basic Action Dimensions (all calibers)
Action diameter: 1.326" Measured my 6mm and a pair of .222s, both share the same diameter and length.

Barrel Threads: In short, the 700 barrels will not fit.
Rem 700
Thread 1 1/16" (1.062") X 16
Engagement .69 (11 threads)

Rem 788
Thread 1" (1.000") X 20
Engagement 1.1" (22 threads)

Rebarreling a Remington 788 on Steelchickens.com
The 788 has a 1-20 pitch threaded shank that is 1.560 long. Why such a long shank on the 788 barrel and why a thread relief in the middle? Dave, you will have to ask the design folks at Remington as to why such a long shank. The bolt enters the front of the action only about 3/16 inch. No gas bleed port needed with this little entry. The relief cut is to allow clearance for the front action screw. It barely touches the barrel when tightened at this point. Threads would get damaged if they were there. I guess they could have gone with a shorter screw, but the action wall is .05 thinner than a M700. Who knows what Wayne Leek was thinking on this one. A unique design to say the least. The relief is for the front action screw. I suspect that the long engagement is to stiffen the joint. I have read that the whole action was designed to cost less than a 700. Seems to me though that the 700 could have been done just as easily on a turning center as folks are now doing with 700 clones.

Action "Lengths" actually the distance between the two action mounting bolts:
Long 243, 6mm, 308, 7mm-08 7.1" Hole Spacing
Short 222, 223, 22-250, 30-30 6-3/4" Hole Spacing (I guess the .44mag is also the "short" action)

Thanks for that clarification. I wasn't real sure it was the actual length since I don't remember a particularly "short" action on the .223 vs. my 6mm. It's been 20 years since I owned one, maybe I was remembering looking at the screw hole spacing and just figuring the actions were slightly different as well.

Hmmm, if it was introduced nowadays it would have a corps of haters since Remington put all of their chamberings in the same action length like Tikka.

Both my 788s are early model, .243 and .22/250 w shiny blue 22-in. Barrels. They are heavy rifles.

As a '70s and '80s survivor, I believe the later 18-in. Carbines had a duller blue. I'd like to run across a .308 or 7/08 sometime.

I think that only the 788s with 18.5" barrels were made in 243, 7mm-08, and 308.

I'm reasonably sure that the 222, 223, 22-250, 6mm, 30-30, and 44 Mag were never cataloged with the shorter barrels.

I have a 788 22-250 with a 24" heavy taper barrel. I have seen a 22-250 with the 18.5" carbine barrel. I always assumed it was a factory gun. But who knows. My stepson has a 788 22" light taper in 243. I can not tell by the pictures I get not logged in, if that 788 is a heavy taper or bull barrel.